


Pain (Without love)

by Lonely_Deer



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Frigga is mean as heck, Frigga's A+ Parenting, I don't like Odin, Loki Angst, Odin's A+ Parenting, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Thor is an awful brother, Warriors Three? HAH. More like Warriors leave! sorry., and Hope, he needs hugs, lots of Loki pain, mild mentions of torture, slight references to Rape/Non-con, so much for the goddess of motherhood, someone love him please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 18:56:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13576878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonely_Deer/pseuds/Lonely_Deer
Summary: First fanfiction,yay!This is my first fanfiction, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!So basically this is a bunch of one-shots where the chapter titles are all song lyrics, and most of the chapters will be inspired by most of the songs. hope you enjoy!It's funny, isn't it?Now Loki is stuck living with the very people who not only did he try to destroy, but also tried to kill him.Life's a bitch.Maybe Death will finally give him some peace...





	1. The light (Behind your eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! Ok so, like it says in the description, this is a bunch of one-shots based around Loki living with the Avengers and his life before, that are also inspired by songs that I listen to probably too often for it to be normal.  
> Loki-centric angst, sometimes he dies, other times he doesn't, and everyone else is just dragged along for the emotional ride.  
> Hope you enjoy!

While Bruce was walking around The Avengers tower he noticed something felt rather... _Off._

It wasn't unusual to feel strange when strolling down the massive halls and corridors of the tower, there was always something going on behind closed doors that left you feeling awkward or uneasy, but something had been really bugging the resident scientist, and he wanted to find out what it was exactly. As he was walking he decided that he would analyse his surroundings, to try and put his ever-wandering mind to rest.

After all, it's not like there would be anything that would be an immediate cause for alarm, right? And if there was something terribly wrong it could be handled easily,  _right?_ As he continued to wander down the hall way whilst still questioning his accuracy and very reasons for being on the team, he noticed something that shouldn't have set massive alarm bells off in his head: someone's door was open.

Now this was quite a common occurrence in the home of some of  _the most_   unorganised excuses for superheroes that you would have ever seen. But what set the alarm bells ringing was not the positioning of the door, it was who the door belonged to:

Loki.

Loki had to be the most pristine, well mannered and possibly intellectual person Bruce has ever met. So to see his door like that was... surprisingly jarring. Now, Bruce being the curious person he is decided that he would look into Loki's room, see if he was in there and find out the reason for Loki's uncharacteristic behaviour.

With it all thought through, and no way this plan could go wrong, Bruce carefully opened the door to the youngest of the two resident god's room. And what he saw is something he will definitely not be forgetting  _ever_. Loki was sat on his floor, and whilst this was something usual for their feline-like resident, he had his hand clutched tightly against his chest.  _Odd._ Bruce thought,  _Why would he be sat on his floor? he has a bed right there. Maybe he was too lazy to get up and move to the bed._ Bruce mused, he knew that feeling so very well.

But as he neared the God of Mischief, Bruce began to notice something else off about the room. It was really cold. Pushing this off as just another strange habit of Loki's (the guy insisted on leaving every window he could, open. it was almost like the guy  _enjoyed_ the feeling of almost freezing to death) he continued closer, only to stop as he heard a constant chattering noise:  _His teeth were chattering! How cold is it in here?_ Ignoring this little detail he ventured on to the corner that the living embodiment of chaos its self happened to be located. He got possibly two or three steps from Loki when he froze, dead in his tracks.

No, it wasn't the cold that made him freeze; It was the sight in front of him that made him freeze. Loki was sat there, leaning against the wall, whilst looking out longingly into the navy blue night sky, embroidered with beautiful glistening stars that seemed to flash and twinkle with excitement. No wonder it had caused Loki to look so brooding, it was stunning. Although, that wasn't the detail that made him stop.

The thing that had made him stop was the pure amount of blood that had pooled around Loki's slender frame. Now Bruce knew why Loki was clutching his chest: the guy had probably the biggest gash in his chest that Bruce had ever seen in his life.

A few other things were noticed as Bruce examined the scene before him:

1) Loki looked very...  _ethereal_ as he lay there bleeding out in the pale light of the moon. He almost looked beautiful.  _Angelic_ even. It must have been the way his dark, usually slick black hair was wild and left a few locks covering his calm and unconcerned face.

2) He also looked _oh so_ very delicate and fragile. The way the moon made his already pale skin look even whiter gave Loki the appearance of a ghost: restless, gentle, serene and yet so very alive at the same time. The contrasts made his chest hurt with emotion.

3) His eye colour had changed too. His usually bright green eyes, seemingly glowing with chaotic energy and life, were now a deep, wine red. Bruce shuddered as he looked into those endlessly knowing eyes.

Bruce couldn't take it anymore, he needed to let Loki know he was here: to try and help him. So as Bruce took a couple tentative steps forward he was not expecting Loki to speak to him in such a confident, yet gentle voice. It was quite the contrast to his usually cold and energetic tone.

"What are you doing here?" Loki inquired.

"Um, I was just uh... wondering why your door was open and why it was so cold in here." Loki had made him stutter. He  _never_ stuttered.

"Well, do you have the answers to the questions you were so obviously dying to find?" His voice was so soft. _What was with his voice?_

"Well ,uh, actually you see... I don't."

"Oh?" There was a slight glint of curiosity in Loki's ruby eyes "what else do you wish to know about? I have lived many thousands of years, i'm sure I could help satiate some of your confusion." There was that tone of voice again. Why did it resemble a mother talking to her ever questioning child so much? 

"Heh, so you see, I have three questions. One: Why are you bleeding? Two: How long have you been bleeding? And Three: How in the name of science are you not dead yet?" He hadn't meant the last question to sound so biting, but it had slipped out as sounding almost bitter at the fact that Loki was not dead yet.

It was apparently so bitter that Loki in fact flinched, and to make matters worse also looked down at the floor below him with a defeated and sorrowful look.  _Great going, Banner._ He mentally berated himself.

"I have the capability to answer all those questions, but I don't feel as though I truly need to. You are far more observant and intelligent than you let on to be, Mr. Banner. I just hope that the others realise it too." Loki spoke that last sentence with so much care and consideration it made Bruce feel like he was going to choke on the guilt welling up in his throat.

The guilt of knowing that less than a mere month ago Bruce would have wanted to see this exact scene before him: Loki dying, bleeding out slowly and painfully as all that energy and life drained out of him like the very blood spilled across the concrete floor. It was amusing, to think that now, in this moment, it was the last thing he wanted to see. In fact, he would have quite happily watched Loki murder someone before him, because then he would know what to do and how to feel. He would be angry and horrified, so he would have just "Hulked out" and smashed the Trickster to a pulp like he had done so before.

But now, Bruce didn't know what to do. He barely knew Loki, not the front he puts on to make himself seem selfish and dishonest, but the real him. The version of Loki that was thought lost so long ago. A version of Loki who didn't hide behind anger or insanity, but who would go out of his way to protect those he cared about even if they didn't care about him.

Oh how Bruce would have loved to meet that side of Loki, to plead him to stay strong and fight, to not give up because he wasn't 'strong enough' or he wasn't 'brave enough' to be like the other Asgardian men. Loki had intellect, something valued far more on earth than by any Asgardian brutes.

Loki was determined, more so than Thor. But Loki was looked down upon because he used magic and because he wanted to be a scholar more than a fighter. 

Loki was more of a thinker than a fighter, but if it really came down to it Bruce would prefer to take Thor on in a fight. This was because Thor was predictable, you could see that Thor went by the training he would have got on Asgard, where as Loki was deadly mix of intellect as well as having good fighting capabilities; Loki truly was a worthy opponent. To the point that it made the scene in front of him all the more heart-wrenching. Loki wasn't dying in battle like the brave warrior he was, instead he was here and dying because of a wound inflicted on him.

Bruce, not wanting to see anything else that would make him feel even more sympathetic to the dying man in front of him decided that he would help Loki to his bed, and try and patch his wounds from there. So Bruce began to tentatively walk towards the fallen god once more, but he was being careful for a different reason this time: he didn't want to startle Loki. He didn't want to see the fear in those gentle yet piercing eyes.

So he slowly crouched in front of Loki, and told him quietly: "I'm gonna move you to the bed now, ok? And then I'm going to try and patch up your wound, alright?" Bruce only broke eye contact when he got a small, weak nod as an answer. So it was settled. All Bruce had to do was move Loki onto his bed and go from there. So why couldn't Bruce bring himself to do it? Oh yeah, he didn't want to hurt Loki anymore than he was already suffering.

But But Bruce knew he had to push that aside to truly help Loki, so that's exactly what he did. He began by very carefully looping his arm under Loki's legs, and then decided that he would bridal-carry him the small distance to the bed. The thing is, Bruce isn't very muscular either, so he was very worried that he would end up dropping Loki and end up hurting him even more. But apparently, he need not worry; Loki was far lighter than he should be. It was scary. Bruce had expected him to be so much heavier, and nearly ended up throwing Loki into the air.  _That is something we definitely need to talk about later._ Bruce thought, already reading into the connotations of what Loki's weight suggests about his mental health. 

So Bruce gently lay Loki on the bed, all but forgetting the numbing cold attacking him to no end, and instantly knew that there was nothing he could do. Loki had become so much worse, his breathing became erratic and sharp if not slower, his naturally slow heart beat had almost slowed to a stop, and his eyes were closing. Loki was losing to his battle against eternal slumber, and just like a soldier tired out from war and the bleeding, he was loosing his will to fight too.

As Bruce yet again looked into those hypnotically deep eyes he saw something he truly never ever wanted to see again: he saw pain, from the constant war of trying to prove that he was good enough to survive and the scars he had received for it. He saw sorrow, sadness for the knowledge that he would not be able to right the wrongs he had done. (But in Bruce's eyes he had already done so by helping the Avengers to fight.) But he also saw hope. Whether that was the hope that Bruce could save him, or the hope that Bruce  _couldn't_ save him he was unsure of.

But now, as Loki lay there, truly losing a battle he fought so hard to win, he had one last request. "Bruce...?" Loki croaked out. Bruce, startled out of his thoughts by the use of his first name looked at Loki once more, and asked in the same gentle tone that Loki had used on him: "Yeah? What... What is it bud?" And only slightly flinched hen Loki looked shocked at he use of the affectionate term. Loki took in another shaky breath and continued "I know this may sound like an odd request but... please may you open the window once more?" Bruce had to sit there for a few moments to remember when he had shut the window exactly. "S-sure. Yeah, of course, bud." And slowly got up to open the window.

Once he reached the other side of the room he took a few moments to breathe in the cool night air, before looking at the still ever present pool of blood at his feet. The feeling of nausea returned once more, so he quickly made his way back to Loki. "Bruce...B-Banner. Thank you. Thank you for trying to help me, even though I don't deserve it." Bruce had to use very single ounce of his self control to not bark his reply to those last few words, seemingly so small yet speaking louder than anything else he could have said. "Don't talk about yourself like that. Everyone, and I mean  _everyone_ deserves a second chance if they are truly sorry for what they've done." This earned a small, bitter and breathy chuckle from Loki.

"I appreciate that, I really do. But I guess it looks like I won't be around to take that chance. Goodbye, Friend Bruce..."

And with those as his last words, forever encased in time its self, Loki lost the battle. His breathing stopped, and his all seeing eyes slipped closed and stopped seeing.

Loki, The God of Mischief and Life's energy its self, was dead.

He was gone, but Bruce did not weep. After all, he barely knew Loki. But then Bruce remembered just how scared Loki was before he died, and how he accepted his fate without putting up a fight. Now Bruce had begun to cry, not for the loss of a friend, but for the loss of someone who could still be here if he'd just held on a little longer.

And he wept for the loss of someone who could have been a great companion if he had just been shown a bit more compassion and love. Bruce did not leave Loki's side that night, as he did not want to abandon him like everyone in his life had done to him before. "Goodnight Loki, and may you sleep well knowing you fought as best as you could."

And with that Bruce too fell asleep, but with the dreams of a brave man standing tall in a world of giants.


	2. I Can't sleep (That's when you're torn away from me)

Vision was currently in the tower kitchen and, for some strange reason, was making a coffee. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it probably had something to do with boredom. At the moment he was trying to get the kettle to boil, but it appeared that there was some sort of fault in it. So, in an attempt to fix the fault, he had ended up in only succeeding to pour the water all along the counter top and all over the floor at his feet.

Great.

All it took was one moment of not concentrating, and he had a soggy mess to clean up.

Whilst he was bending over to pick up the nearby towel he felt a familiar shadow like form pass by him. Standing up to greet the tall dark figure with a courteous "Greetings", he then bent over to try and cleanup the mess again. As he was expecting a hum of a greeting in return, he was rather confused as to why he got no response.

This wasn't unusual when the others and himself attempted to strike up a conversation with Loki, considering the brooding and mysterious man was more inclined to keep to his silence, but it was something else about Loki that caught Vision's attention:

Loki looked exhausted. The already pale face full of sharp features appeared even more pale and gaunt than Vision had last remembered, and the god had dark circles underneath his eyes. Speaking of: his eyes had a strange dull look to them, which was a stark contrast to the usual glint of mischievous energy in those emerald eyes that Loki seemed to suit so well. It was concerning to say the least.

Vision came to the conclusion that Loki was suffering from sleep deprivation, and he wanted to see the extent of the damage the constant lack of energy was causing his melancholic companion. Vision then decided that he would run a few tests to see just how much damage Loki was doing to himself, and dependant on the outcome he would confront Loki about his unhealthy sleeping habits. 

He settled upon testing his reaction times first, and from there on he would decide what the next best decision would be to make. So Vision picked up a mug from the shelf, and placed it near the very edge of the counter, and made it look like he was doing something else. He then continued to knock the mug off the side with one sharp quick movement. And what happened next was a shock to Vision.

Loki had not only stopped the cup from falling at a tremendous speed, but he had also placed the mug back on the side all in one swift, agile move. And before Vision could even speak his apologies and gratitude, Loki had slipped out of the kitchen without a single word. 

Whilst Vision was considering this new found information, Tony had walked into the kitchen and managed to knock the mug off the side, and Vision watched as the cup hit the floor and smashed. With a quiet sigh Vision bent over to clean up the new mess, but was stopped by Tony's hand on his shoulder.

"Go on, I've got this. You've obviously got more important things to do." Tony spoke these words as he looked back through the doorway that Loki had just disappeared through, and gave Vision a small, almost sympathetic smile. Vision looked back at Tony and returned the small smile with a quick "Thank you", and he too disappeared through the door way on the hunt for the Trickster god.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About half an hour had passed, and all Vision had seen of Loki was his wiry frame quickly vanishing round corners and through doorways as though he was trying to avoid someone. it was rather peculiar behaviour, and bordering on paranoid.

So Vision decided that he would finally confront Loki on his strange actions, and he would also do his best to stop what ever it is that is ailing his dark loving friend.

The plan seemed simple enough, but it would mean that Vision would have to find Loki, and when the young god didn't want to be found the task was near enough impossible. It was impressive, the sheer ability that Loki held to just 'disappear' and leave no trace of himself behind. It was impressive to the point that the others too had begun to notice how ghost like Loki truly was, and they had even begun to liken him to a shadow: silent, always there, always knowing, and yet so easy to overlook.

It upset Vision to think about how easy it was to just not notice Loki, and it also upset him to think of how Loki must be used to it. Maybe that was something else that drew Vision to the strangely dressed male, the way he used his own insignificance to his advantage and how he simply let others ignore him, and that Vision just wanted to give him some attention to let him know that he wasn't completely forgotten. Vision was so lost in his thoughts as to why Loki behaved in the way he did, that he barely caught sight of said person.

In a sudden flurry of realisation and movements Vision quickly grabbed hold of Loki's thin wrist and dragged him out into the hallway so they could speak in private. If Vision had noticed the harsh look of fear in Loki's eyes he made no move to show it, and fully had no intention of doing so.

Once the two were in one of the more secluded hallways Vision began to speak to the stunned figure before him. "You haven't been sleeping enough, and it appears that you also haven't been eating all that much either, are you sick? Because if so I could help and find a way to cure-" Vision cut himself off when he finally took in the sight before him.

Loki had slightly curled over himself in what resembled a defensive position, and the look of anticipation and fear in his green eyes gave him the appearance of a frightened, injured animal waiting to be struck. And that's when Vision realised what he had done: He had grabbed Loki harshly and then forced him out of the room against his will, he had then dragged him to a closed off area and continued to throw accusations at him, all the while being entirely oblivious to the inner turmoil the young god must have been feeling. The reason Loki looked like a frightened animal was because in essence, he was one. He had been cornered, probably injured, and was awaiting further pain.

The thoughts made Vision feel something possibly akin to nausea, and Vision took a couple slow steps back from the distressed form before him and begun to speak in a softer voice "Loki, please, tell me what is ailing you. You don't seem well, and you seem to be on the verge of a panic attack. Although, I must admit that last one is most likely my fault. My apologies for my actions, but please understand that I only acted that way because I was concerned that I wouldn't have the chance to talk with you if I had left you to disappear again."

Those words seemed to have struck a chord with Loki, as the Trickster slightly eased up his posture, but continued to eye Vision with a cautious and weary look. "You were looking for me? If so, you could have just asked to talk. Had I'd known the concern and inconvenience I was causing I would have simply gone outside so you didn't have to busy yourself with following me. I would have just left the building if I was causing so much discomfort." 

The confidence Loki spoke those last words with stuck out to Vision and, admittedly, none of the connotations that they brought up were particularly appealing to Vision. Then Vision found his gaze drawn to Loki's wrist. Or more accurately, the dark bruises that had already begun to form on his pale and delicate skin. With a soft, apologetic sigh Vision held out his hand and said to Loki "Here, let me look at that. I might be able to help." But he did not speak further when Loki reeled back slightly and edged away a few small steps.

With another pang of guilt Vision took one slow and careful step towards the frightened god and he gently took Loki's slim wrist in his hand, and began to examine it. Just as Vision had suspected, he had managed to hurt Loki and had only caused further reason for him to be frightened of him. A red hand shaped mark had begun to surface all around Loki's wrist, and it had also started to accumulate a purplish hue.

Yet again regretting his earlier decisions he slightly moved the black sleeve of Loki's top upwards to see the extent of the damage he had caused, only to stop when he noticed pale pink marks all along the length of his arm. This detail made Vision curious, and all the more concerned. Vision began to study the marks, and managed to identify what most of them were consistent with: Ligature marks. Although some also matched burn scars and an awful lot of what looked like knife and whip scars.

Taken aback by this information he looked up to meet Loki's eyes, only to find that he had averted his gaze and those emerald eyes were darting around restlessly and looking for some form of solace.

Vision, who was really wishing he had noticed Loki's obvious suffering before hand, spoke softly: "Why don't we go talk about this in your room? Perhaps you will feel less uncomfortable there." And he took the small, almost unnoticeable nod for possibly the loudest scream of yes in his entire life. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After finally being able to get the restless figure of Loki to settle on the bed Vision began to gently question Loki about his scars further. He didn't want to make Loki feel like a cornered animal, but if he didn't do this there was the chance that he would never get to speak of this to Loki ever again. He started by asking the small questions such as "How long have you had those scars?" or "Does anyone else know you have them?" But all he got in return was a shy and uncertain look. After waiting around ten minutes Vision finally remembered why he had sought out Loki anyway.

"Loki, you are in no way forced to answer me, but I would really like to know why you haven't been sleeping, that way I can help you."

Vision watched Loki shift slightly, and with a soft sigh and a defeated look the young god began to inform Vision on why he had been so harsh on himself these past few days in particular. "Today is the anniversary of the death of my two youngest sons, Narfi and Vali. And I have been dreading it's coming for months now. I haven't been able to sleep because every time I close my eyes all I see is..." He didn't finish the sentence. He couldn't finish the sentence; but he didn't need to.

Vision already perfectly understood why Loki had been even more closed off, and it was because he was in mourning of the loss of his children. To think that anyone would have to go through such a thing was horrible enough, but as Vision recalled he had learned that Loki and Thor have been alive many centuries and that Loki would have had to deal with this on his own for far too long.

"You don't have to suffer in silence, friend. We are all here to help, and I can promise you that I will be definitely willing to help you. Mourning such a loss must be painful, but you are no longer in isolation. All I require is your trust, and I will do my best to assist you." Vision spoke with confidence, but he also knew to speak softly, as he did not want to push Loki away any further.

Loki didn't deserve or need any harsh words, he needed a hand and a shoulder to lean on. He needed someone who could accept him and all of his scars, mental and physical. And Vision would be damned if he wasn't that friend. "Your torturers are long gone now, and you will not be punished for appearing weak. No one can stand strong and untouchable forever, even if they have been doing it for hundreds of decades. And I promise you that I will be there to catch you if you fall." 

Loki was brought back to all the memories of the times he has fallen. How most of them were of his own will, but there were a few that he had no control over and he had plummeted harshly into a world of pain and suffering. But now he didn't have to worry about the impact, because now he had someone to break his fall. He wasn't alone anymore.


	3. Sick Of All These People Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to come up with a chapter that involved Nebula, as both Loki and Nebula are complete bad-asses and have so much in common. Like, these two would make an awesome team if they ever had to fight together. I also recommend that when the song comes up that you also listen to it, as I hope it will set the mood. Enjoy!

Nebula never really got on with Gamora. Her sister was always too busy trying to win at everything, even if it wasn't a competition in the first place. But the thing that made this habit of Gamora's so much worse was this: she always won. It hurt Nebula to know that she couldn't even beat Gamora at the more simple things, and that no matter what she did she was always going to be second best.

Slowly, Nebula turned her gaze to the tall and darkly dressed figure across from her. Maybe this was why she was so drawn to Loki? He also knew what it was like to be the lesser sibling, to be payed little to no attention while your (adoptive) sibling was showered in appreciation and encouraging words, and what it was like to shunned simply for not being good enough.

Nebula liked Loki, probably more than she would care to admit. Of course it was all platonic, but she truly did admire Loki for who he was.

He was sharp witted and fast tongued, and he could outsmart every one in the room all at once if he so desired, and he had the agility to match even Nebula's. Nebula began to study the male, and also noted a few other things about him: He was lean, and could probably slip through a gap just as easily as Nebula (although his height would be a disadvantage, the guy already had to dodge low-hanging ceilings and door frames), and he also gave off a rather intimidating aura.

At times it almost felt like he could see right through you, and that he knew what move you were going to make next even before you did. Nebula shifted uncomfortably against the door frame as she remembered the times that she was on the receiving end of such a look, and how strange it had felt not knowing what was going on inside his head.

Nebula had thought she was being subtle with her staring, but was proven wrong as the young god (who was leaning against the opposite wall) slouched slightly and, without looking up from the book he was reading, said: "Found anything interesting, Miss. Nebula? Or are you just going to keep gawking at me from the other side of the room?" But there was something different about the way he said it: It wasn't mocking or smug like he usually spoke when he had found someone staring at him, it was a question asked with genuine curiosity.

Nebula moved from her position against the door frame and, whilst ignoring the amused glances of Drax, Tony and pretty much everyone in the room, walked over to the Trickster and said "Come spar with me. I want to see if you are truly as good at fighting strategically as they say." Loki, being entirely unfazed by this sudden demand, simply marked the page he was on with a small green post-it note and politely replied with a "As you wish."

The others in the room (who were obviously reading too far into to this) started to bustle and mumble about what they were going to do, and Loki, being as eloquent and gentlemanly as ever, simply offered for everyone else to come and spectate.

So that was that.

The two made their way down to the training room, and waited as everyone else sat down and eagerly anticipated the obviously glorious battle that was about to take place. Nebula spoke first, and asked Loki what weapons he was going to choose.

As if in reply to this query, Loki whipped out the hidden throwing daggers in his sleeves. Nebula could hear a few small, quiet gasps in amazement from the people behind her as Loki displayed his daggers in such a manner, and too had to refrain herself from asking how long he'd had the blades hidden up his sleeves.

Nebula pulled out two machete-like knives from her belt, and allowed Loki to pick what song or songs the two will spar to.

It wasn't unusual to spar to music in the Avengers tower, it allowed people keep to a beat and it made it easier to memorise new moves or those of the person you are sparing against. In fact, it was more unusual to not spar to music, and as result of this an almost tradition was made. The tradition was that whoever was challenged to fight was the one to choose the music, as it allowed an even playing field that meant both of the people got something they wanted.

Just as Nebula was preparing her first move, the music started to play. At first it was fairly quiet, and a slow yet bass-y beat was playing, but then it gradually got louder as Nebula recognised the song: Castle- By the earth singer known as 'Halsey'. It was a good song, and Nebula felt as though she could relate to it, but as she remembered the lyrics she realised that the song fit Loki surprisingly well too.

As the two made their ways to the other side of the room, the lyrics started to play and the two begun. 

Loki started the session off as he slowly yet agilely circled around Nebula, and seemingly planned his first move. While this technique was effective against others, Nebula had no doubts that the Trickster god had already planned his first attack and was simply buying himself some time.

In response to this Nebula stuck her arm and leg out in an attempt to foil his first attack, but had no such luck as he simply dodged this and landed a blow of his fist to Nebula's stomach. Just as Loki's fist made a connection with her stomach Nebula brought her arm down and managed to elbow him in the shoulder, causing him to reel back slightly and continue to kick his leg out and strike Nebula just behind the kneecap.

With the sudden pressure causing her to duck down she kneed Loki in the stomach and grabbed his arm to spin him around and push him away. But she only succeeded in opening up a weak spot that allowed Loki to elbow her in the ribs and spin around to end up behind her, and then kick her in the back to propel her forwards. 

Then as the chorus begun, the two suddenly felt fuelled with a determined energy.

Nebula spun around quick on the balls of her feet and kicked Loki in the chest, only to have him grab her leg and spin her as he lifted his leg in a roundhouse kick to strike her in the face. She ducked down and dodged this just as Loki brought his leg down, and she punched him in the side in an attempt to throw him off balance.

But it appeared that he had already anticipated this and swiftly side stepped to avoid the hit, whilst also bringing his fist up to strike Nebula between the shoulder blades. She narrowly dodged this attack, and at the same time raised her own fist and struck Loki on his left cheekbone. 

Momentarily stunned he took a small step back, but quickly came to his senses and grabbed a hold of her non robotic arm, and twisted it backwards. She let out a small growl, and tore her arm out of his grip and then kicked him in the side of the leg.

The other's watched on in stunned amazement as the two fought viciously and appearing tirelessly, and then observed as how the fight seemed to have calmed down once the chorus had ended. Then, as the next part of the song continued the first part of the fight seemingly replayed. They used very much the same moves, but just in different orders.

That as until the second chorus began, and it almost felt like hell it's self had broken loose.

The two were fighting more vigorously, and also appeared to be even more determined to at least land a decent hit on the other. Throughout the fight it could be clearly seen that the two were evenly matched, and it seemed to have felt like ages until one of them finally managed to strike the other.

But now the two were managing to hurt each other, but they were doing it in such quick succession that it almost looked like some sort of game. As soon as one managed to land a kick or punch the other did too, and it would go like that for five or six punches. It was astounding really, how evenly matched the two were, almost like they were designed to fight together.

As the song once more began to build up for a repeat of the chorus the two finally used their blades and struck for each other, but only to find that they had caught each other's blades in their own. 

In an instant as the final chorus played the two had both moved away from each other in a synchronised show of skill as they both performed back-flips and flung themselves away from each other.

Just as the song was finally drawing to an end, the two Assassin-like aliens leapt at each other, and the fight (as well as the song) ended with Nebula's blades pressed to Loki's neck, and with Loki's blades against Nebula's neck.

The two stood there for a few moments, trying to catch their breaths, before removing the blades and straightening up their postures and looking dead into each other's eyes.

Only for both of them to crumple in on themselves and burst out into fits of in-containable laughter. 

Everyone else sat there in shocked silence. Not only had the match closed with a definite draw (which very rarely happened), but now two of the most sadistic and cold-hearted beings in the universe were literally _crying_ with laughter. 

But now Nebula noticed something.

Even as the two were laughing joyously, she saw a glimmer of something strange in the green eyes before her:

regret.

It confused her, to say the least, because it didn't make sense. Even when the man was wiping tears away from his eyes from the laughing he still looked like the world was on his shoulders, and slowly dragging him to hell.

She stood up straight once more and, whilst trying to stop the ache in her face from all the smiling, walked away to turn everything off and put things away.

The others got the hint and left, while still contemplating what the actual  _Hel_ just happened, and decided that they would all just go watch a film or something.

Once they had all left Nebula walked over to Loki, and grabbed him by the shoulder to look at his face properly.

She saw a bruise beginning to form, and she also saw how uncertain his polite smile was. 

"What ever is the matter, Miss Nebula? Are you starting to regret not actually slitting my throat earlier?"

Nebula only stared at him, and replied coolly: "Oh no, I'm not. But i'm starting to think _you_ are."

Loki only smirked, but at the same she could see his mask slipped slightly too.

"Very observant, aren't you? Norns, if only you had been  _my_ sister. We would have had so much fun causing chaos and destruction." He gave a small and bitter sigh.

"Definitely." Nebula remarked. "You would have been much nicer company than Gamora." She wasn't lying about that. "But," she continued "that still doesn't stop the fact that you looked ready to drop dead at any moment. I'm guessing you had another quarrel with Thor?" The slight sag of his shoulders told her that her assumption was correct.

"Indeed. It was this morning in fact, and I still feel like I want tear something into little pieces." He glared at the floor with that, and Nebula thought he looked a bit like a large wild cat.

"Care to share what this fight was about? Or are you just going to sulk all day?" She added a slight hint of amusement to her voice to the last question, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"As you know your childhood wasn't exactly full of sweet dreams, and neither was mine. Thor simply loves to drag up my past 'mistakes'" -he emphasised the 'mistakes'- and he wont leave me be. And if you don't mind, I really,  _really_  don't want to talk about this right now." He looked to the floor defeated, and Nebula knew that she could relate to this man truly.

"I understand that fully." Nebula (tried to) comforted Loki "But if you ever want to rant about shitty childhoods and awful families, I'm sure Gamora wouldn't mind being replaced for a few hours."

"Heh, be warned, I might take you up on that offer." He smirked mischievously "And I'm sure Thor could survive an hour or two away from me."

"Well, see you later then I suppose. And I'll make sure to find the goriest video game possible." Nebula said as she walked away.

"Until then, Nebula."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

A few months had passed, and Nebula and Loki were as close as ever.

If you saw one of the alien siblings, then you would most definitely find the other one close behind. In fact, it had gotten to the point that the others were betting on the two of them being an item.

That was until when one of their missions took an unpleasant turn, and Loki ended up being captured and tortured. Again.

The others had got into the room he was being held just in time, apparently, as they saw a man standing above Loki with a dangerously sharp tool in his hand.

Not even a few seconds after, Nebula crashed through the wall with someone's head in her hands, and said in a low yet violent tone: "Step away from my brother, or this head- she waved the head around menacingly - will certainly be replaced with yours."

Loki gave an exhausted smile, and despite everything he'd been put through he said: "I'd listen to her if I was you - he spat out some blood - my sister doesn't take too kindly to idiots. I would know." 

Loki didn't even have the time to look up and smile defiantly at the man before the guy's head came crashing to the floor with a sickeningly wet 'thud'.

He sighed.

"I tried to warn him. You know I did." And he smirked up at Nebula, smiling even wider once she set him free from his chains.

"Dang it."

Nebula and Loki turned around to the source of the voice, to see an irritated Captain America and Tony give an all too smug Black Widow a large sum of money.

Nebula held out a hand and allowed Loki to pull himself off the floor, and turned to aid him out of the building.

"While you idiots continue with your little bet, me and my brother are going to go play video games and pretend none of you pathetic excuses for heroes even exist."

Loki grinned.

"Well put sister, now, let's get going."

And without another word the two had disappeared into an arch of green sparks.

 

None of them heard from the two for the rest of the day, aside from the loud in-game screams and death noises coming from Loki's room. 

**Author's Note:**

> Really hope you liked it, and I would also like it if anyone left me some tips on how to improve my writing.  
> Hope to see you in the next chapter!


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